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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905370">solace</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wbtrashking/pseuds/wbtrashking'>wbtrashking</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anthro, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gradual Relationship, M/M, claws &amp; paws</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:42:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905370</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wbtrashking/pseuds/wbtrashking</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Sonic's eyes widen in shock. "You asked me to go running with you because you were <em>bored</em>?"<br/></p>
  <p>Shadow glares at him in response. “Don't think that I'm making a habit out of it."</p>
</blockquote><p>When Shadow offhandedly invites Sonic to hang out with him, he doesn't expect it to become a regular thing. He also doesn't expect to see Sonic letting down some of his barriers, shedding his bravado, and going running with him in <em>silence</em>, but it soon becomes the new normal.</p><p>And maybe—it's a <em>big</em> maybe—Shadow is getting used to having Sonic to himself.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>303</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>solace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i can't believe i've thrown myself deep into sonic again. i love these two dumb hedgehogs. let them hang out and be friends, sega. cowards.</p><p>enjoy! ♡</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shadow is begrudgingly grooming his claws when Rouge gives him the <em>look</em>.</p><p>It’s a look that he’s been on the receiving end of many times before. She knows he’s not good with words, so she usually talks enough for both of them. When words won’t cut it, she has to speak his language—overt, loaded body cues with no room for misunderstanding.</p><p>She seems to be upset with him, or worse, disappointed.</p><p>He puts the file and the black nail polish down with a sigh. “What?”</p><p>“Amy sent me a text,” Rouge drawls. “Told me you hurt Sonic’s feelings, which I find hard to believe. Blue’s got an ego the size of Jupiter and the self-esteem to match. What’d you do?”</p><p>Crimson irises drift off to the side. He casually blows on one sharply-pointed nail as a stall tactic. “Nothing.”</p><p>The bat is unimpressed with his response, to say the least. Rouge casually joins him on the floor, crossing her legs with a knowing hum. “Fess up, pal. It’ll make you feel better.”</p><p>“It was just a foolish spur-of-the-moment thing.”</p><p>“Sounds juicy. Tell me everything.”</p><p>Because Rouge is his best friend, and she rarely does anything to piss him off, he does.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Sonic and Shadow have always had a strange relationship.</p><p>Between being mistaken for each other, fighting enormously destructive aliens together in space, Shadow supposedly falling to his inevitable doom, both of them traveling through time and alternate dimensions, or whatever other inordinate bullshit they’ve managed to get wrapped up in over the years, they’ve formed something of a truce.</p><p>If Sonic gets in his way, Shadow doesn’t have a problem fighting to get past him. At this point, it’s honestly fun trying to rile his rival up, to challenge Sonic to a race or a battle. There’s nobody else who can really give Shadow a run for his money, after all.</p><p>There’s no particular brand of doom on the horizon today, so when Shadow runs through the town where Sonic’s staying, he asks the blue hedgehog to join him on a jaunt across the mountains. He can tell Sonic’s curious about the reason for the invitation—Shadow generally has an ulterior motive behind his actions; he doesn’t blame Sonic for hesitating—but somehow, the blue hedgehog agrees.</p><p>They run in <em>silence</em>. Shadow wishes he had a camera to record evidence. Rouge and Omega will never believe him when he talks about this. Sonic always has <em>something</em> to say.</p><p>When they finally get to a stopping point, Shadow realizes that Sonic’s still looking for a method to Shadow’s madness. The black and red hedgehog grunts, putting Sonic out of his misery. “I was bored.”</p><p>He blinks incredulously in response. “That’s it? You were bored?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Sonic fixes Shadow with a flat stare. “You asked me to go running with you because you were <em>bored</em>?”</p><p>Shadow’s eyes narrow. “Don’t think that I’ll be making a habit of it.”</p><p>The other hedgehog bursts out laughing at that, tears of mirth forming at the corners of his eyes. When he finally calms down, taking in the quietly seething rage oozing from Shadow’s pores, he reels himself back in. “Why me?”</p><p>“You were available, and exactly who else do you think could keep up with <em>me</em>?”</p><p>Sonic’s trademark smirk brightens his face once more. “Alright, fair. You <em>should</em> make a habit of it, Shadow—I don’t mind. This was nice.”</p><p>He snorts. “You were miserable most of the afternoon.”</p><p>With one claw on his hip, Sonic scowls, poking Shadow in the chest with the other. “Only because I thought you were taking me to some remote side of the planet to try and murder me, but I guess I should’ve known better. You’ve changed.”</p><p>Shadow briefly closes his eyes. “Not <em>that</em> much. As a matter of fact, I’m feeling the urge to strangle you right now. I liked the part where you were <em>quiet</em>, even if that just meant you were hiding your anxiety about being attacked.”</p><p>“Yikes, harsh. I take it back. You’re still an insufferable prick.”</p><p>Shadow hums, lips lazily curling upwards. “You’re welcome.”</p><p>Thus, this <em>thing</em> they do, whatever the hell it is, becomes routine.</p><p>Shadow often has work to do with the G.U.N., so they don't set dates or make a schedule. Sonic’s usually busy too, zipping around keeping Eggman occupied so the mad scientist can’t take over the world, or hanging out with his friends.</p><p>The black hedgehog doesn’t know what it is that drives Sonic to go so far, yet alone so fast. He wonders if Sonic ever thinks about those kinds of things—about whether he deserves to be alive. Whether his power deserves to be used to its full capacity or shut down for the safety of everyone around him. Whether he should be forgiven for his crimes, temperamental outbursts, and past transgressions. It’s unlikely; Sonic isn’t the type to do anything that would require forgiveness. Even though he has a big attitude, Sonic also has a big heart.</p><p>Maybe he worries about the pressure of constantly being in the public eye, about always having to be the hero. Smiling and joking in the face of danger is easier to boast about than to actually <em>do</em>, but the lighthearted quips seem to come naturally to Sonic. Shadow can’t imagine what that’s like, but he assumes that it’s mildly annoying at best and deeply stressful at worst. Sonic’s moral compass is admirable, but even he must want to scream in frustration sometimes.</p><p>On another one of their ‘dates’, as Sonic has taken to teasingly calling them, Sonic zips into place next to him in the freezing cold, wearing leggings that go up to his knees and a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. “Let’s hit the beach next time.”</p><p>“You probably can’t appreciate the weather because it reminds you of the cruel realty of life and the inevitability of death,” Shadow murmurs.</p><p>Sonic flicks him in the forehead. “Slow down there, bud. No need to get all existential on me. I don’t like this weather because it’s <em>cold.</em>”</p><p>Shadow’s red eyes roll. “Need I remind you that you frequently fight <em>in space</em>, which is vastly colder than the north pole?”</p><p>“Yeah—with Chaos Emeralds, when I’m hopped up on adrenaline. You think I have time to worry about my legs freezing over when I’m trying not to die?”</p><p>When Shadow huffs, they leave it at that. It’s another quiet day. They’ve found that, by this point, words are beyond them. Sonic respects Shadow’s methods, calmly taking in the surroundings and enjoying the company. Shadow wonders how often Sonic gets to do simple things like this, idly glancing at penguins while his legs cycle around at Mach 2.</p><p>Getting back to Shadow's place is no problem at all. They could run, but there’s a lot of water to cross between their places. Shadow warps home to drop off a souvenir, then he takes Sonic back to the city.</p><p>“Thanks for another rad date, Shads,” Sonic says, throwing off his gloves. It’s a gesture of trust, showing your bare claws to someone. Shadow has yet to repay the honor—it feels like a big step to take.</p><p>Shadow has spent weeks vehemently denying that what they’ve been doing is <em>dating</em>, but it feels pointless to challenge Sonic on it today. “Sure.”</p><p>Noting the way that Shadow doesn’t snap at him, Sonic studies his companion’s face before leaning forward and pecking Shadow’s cheek quickly. “Don’t spend too much time brooding, alright? See you soon.”</p><p>Shadow spends the rest of the afternoon doing just that, if only to spite Sonic.</p><p>It definitely isn’t because Sonic’s given him something new to brood about—namely, the gesture he’d performed at the end of their <em>not-date.</em> Furthermore, Shadow <em>definitely</em> doesn’t abuse the power of a Chaos Emerald to punch at nothing in the middle of the ocean, where he knows no one will look for him.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>There’s another fiasco that shakes the world to its core and calls Sonic to the winds of adventure, of course. Sonic saves the day, stops the villain, makes new friends, and is swamped for weeks on end.</p><p>Shadow refuses to let himself be disappointed by this. It’s just another ordinary day for the blue blur. While they’re apart, it dawns on him that he shouldn’t be letting Sonic take up so much of his free time. Shadow has his own small part in the mess that unfolds, supporting Sonic's crew from the sidelines, running reconnaissance and endlessly answering calls for intel.</p><p>When the mess has blown over and life has returned to some semblance of normal, Shadow doesn’t text Sonic.</p><p>He kicks off his hover boots and gloves, idly rubbing the inhibitors on his wrists. It’s about time for him to visit the G.U.N.’s research lab to see if they have some sort of reactor core he can hide in for an hour or two. The Chaos energy buildup in his body is starting to give him a headache.</p><p>He’s minutes away from dozing off in front of the computer screen when a knock comes at the door. Expecting it to be Rouge, or maybe even Omega, he doesn’t bother with covering his extremities again, yawning widely as he throws the door open. “Yeah?”</p><p>“Hey.” Familiar green eyes glint at him, as open and honest as always. “Sorry to drop in on you. Can I come in?”</p><p>After a moment’s hesitation, Shadow swings the door open. “I suppose.”</p><p>There are a million things he wants to ask Sonic. How he’s been, what he’s been doing, the sights he’s seen. The words catch in Shadow’s throat, though, <em>big surprise</em>, so he finds himself drifting into the kitchen saying a whole lot of fuck-all.</p><p>Sonic doesn’t seem overly keen on talking either, so they don’t speak. Sonic makes himself comfortable, revealing his claws since Shadow’s done the same. Afterwards, he casually reclines on Shadow’s couch like he’s done the same thing a hundred times before. Shadow makes two cups of coffee before joining him, flicking on the television to have some background noise fill the quiet room.</p><p>Sonic closes the space between them fearlessly, curling into Shadow’s lap as he sips at his drink, the color faded from black to caramel with all the cream he’s dumped into it. “Did you miss me?”</p><p>Shadow hums something noncommittal, but Sonic takes it for a yes, smiling into Shadow’s dark fur in response.</p><p>Sonic’s soft affection unfurls something warm and tender inside of Shadow’s heart, but he’s terrified of breathing life into it, of giving this unknown thing a name.</p><p>He’s never been any good at holding on to the things that really matter to him.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Meeting at Shadow’s place becomes their new thing.</p><p>They still go running together, burning off steam and playfighting at the crack of dawn in every terrain known to man. Rainforests, beaches, swamps—there are multiple universes that Sonic knows how to get to, and he enjoys showing every nook and cranny to Shadow. It feels a bit like they’re the only two creatures in the world, privately touring places that most humans could never dream of.</p><p>When Shadow offhandedly gets a chance to ask about whether he’s cutting into Sonic’s time with his friends, the blue hedgehog just grins, interlacing their paws as they lounge on the couch. “I come and go as I please—everybody knows that. It’s good when we see each other, and it’s fine if we don’t.”</p><p>Shadow raises an eyebrow in disbelief. “That doesn’t seem to apply to me these days.”</p><p>Sonic pokes him in the forehead. “Don’t waste brain power <em>thinking</em> about stuff. Just relax. This is nice, isn’t it? I like being here. You’re a lot cooler than I initially gave you credit for.”</p><p>“Well,” Shadow sardonically drawls, “in all fairness, you were being framed for my crimes when we first met, so I wouldn’t have found myself particularly friendly either.”</p><p>Pouting, Sonic says, “Spoilsport. That was a million years ago, geez. I’m way over it.”</p><p>“You <em>do</em> realize that this is why you get taken advantage of, don’t you? You’re much too forgiving.”</p><p>“There’s no such thing as being too forgiving,” Sonic says, flopping down on Shadow’s chest, gently massaging the black hedgehog’s quills. “You’re too hard on yourself.”</p><p>They’re nose to nose and Shadow refuses to keep the conversation going, so there’s nothing else for it but to let the chips fall into place. Sonic makes the first move, gingerly pressing their muzzles together. It’s chaste, at first, until Shadow flicks out his tongue as a sort of challenge, and things quickly get out of hand from there.</p><p>They dig into each other’s fur and spines as they tousle, pulling apart to pant every few seconds. Without gloves on, they’re all claws, leaving pink indents in each other’s skin as they keep up this dance that’s equal parts making out and battling for dominance.</p><p>When they finally stop, the room is eerily quiet. Sonic helps Shadow up, so that they can sit next to each other on the couch again, but the mood between them becomes heavy, almost somber.</p><p>Sonic leaves in the middle of the night when he thinks Shadow’s finally asleep.</p><p>Shadow opens his eyes once the other hedgehog has left, furious with himself that he’s fucked up something good in his life yet again.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Knuckles is the first person to call Sonic out on his shit.</p><p>They’re lucky that Eggman’s been quiet the last few weeks, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still robots roaming around causing havoc for helpless creatures across the globe. It hasn’t been that long since the evil genius’s last attempt to take over the world failed.</p><p>Sonic’s been absent-minded and unfocused, moving around with two left feet. He’s always charged into battle brazenly, but the past month, he’s nearly gotten himself killed in his distraction. It’s worse because the robots they’re fighting aren’t event that strong—these should be simple clean up jobs, but Sonic’s been more of a hindrance than a help lately.</p><p>Breaking away from the action to pin the hedgehog to the wall, Knuckles snarls at Sonic. “I dunno what the hell’s wrong with you, but you’re gonna get <em>all</em> of us hurt acting like this. Get some fresh air. Go clear your head.”</p><p>Sonic doesn’t enjoy leaving things unfinished, but he knows what his friend is getting at. He takes a moment to take stock of the scene before leaving, dashing into the sunset when he finds that everyone really is doing fine without him.</p><p>Amy and Tails briefly glance at the trail of dust left behind in Sonic’s wake, worried. They know that Knuckles did the right thing, but they’re also familiar with Sonic’s rare mood swings. Tails is more of the <em>cheer up, buddy, I made a new, cool gadget</em> kind of friend. Amy’s more of the <em>I know you like to pretend you don’t have any negative emotions, but let’s talk anyways</em> gal. Silently, they agree that this task is better left to the pink hedgehog, so she plans to visit Sonic the following day to help him get out of this funk.</p><p>He’s somewhere green, bright, and warm when she tracks him down. No surprise.</p><p>It’s a common misconception that Sonic never stays still for long. He loves running, sure, but he also enjoys lazing around and watching the sun set on the horizon. Amy’s been around him for years—plenty of time to know his idiosyncrasies.</p><p>He can’t be a witty, flashy, heroic guy all of the time. When all the cameras go away and nobody’s looking, he doesn’t put up a façade of false bravado because he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone.</p><p>There are no enemies here for him to run into and knock out. No responsibilities. No expectations.</p><p>He’s just a little blue hedgehog who never had time to grow up like a normal kid. Amy thinks that’s why he gets like this sometimes—he’s a little maladjusted.</p><p>“Hey.” He greets her quietly as she takes a seat beside him on the ledge of the cliff.</p><p>“Hey yourself.” Flirting with Sonic is as easy as breathing these days, even though there’s no real drive behind the attraction anymore. She has her own goals in life beyond him, and they’ve finally built a mutual trust between them. Now, he doesn’t feel the need to run to the other side of the world just to have some alone time. “You wanna tell me what’s going on, or do you want me to twist your arm?”</p><p>The silence stretches between them awkwardly, but it’s fine. Amy’s grown used to waiting him out.</p><p>“I kissed Shadow,” Sonic finally admits, his words slurred in his hurry to mumble them out quickly. “It was an accident.”</p><p>When she giggles in response, the blue hedgehog glares at her. “Sorry, but Sonic, c’mon. You <em>accidentally</em> kissed him? Even you know that’s ridiculous.”</p><p>He idly rubs his nose in embarrassment. “Okay, sure, I wanted to kiss him, but I wasn’t planning on doing it when I did. The moment just seemed right. You know me—leaping before I look and all.” Sonic barks out a self-depreciating laugh. “You should’ve seen his face when we stopped kissing. He seemed equal parts confused and pissed as all hell.”</p><p>“Sonic,” Amy says, her tone slightly chastising. “It sounds like you’re making a big assumption about that. What did he have to be upset about?”</p><p>Green eyes gaze into the distance for a moment, gloved claws digging into the dirt. “You know how Shadow is, always tearing himself up over something. He’s probably angry because he thinks he doesn’t deserve to be liked, or it could be because he secretly still resents me for some reason, or both. All I know is that he had the whole night to say something. <em>Anything</em>. To ask me why, to ask me for another kiss, to tell me never to talk to him again. He didn’t. It’s been weeks and he won’t even call me. I can’t help but think that I ruined everything. What else am I supposed to think, Ames?”</p><p>“That you’re both being stubborn idiots who don’t know how to communicate,” Amy flatly responds. “You need to talk to <em>him</em> about all this stuff.”</p><p>“Just drop in on Shadow and go get rejected, Sonic,” he mimics, putting on a falsetto to imitate Amy’s tone. “No big deal. You’ve lived through worse.”</p><p>She punches him in the arm. Sonic winces. “Stop being such a drama queen. Now I <em>know</em> you’ve been spending too much time with him—his cynical schtick must be contagious.”</p><p>Kicking his legs idly, Sonic grumbles. “I just don’t want things to go south. This has been a long time coming. If he goes back to constantly asking me to duel or something when everything’s said and done, I dunno if I’ll be able to put up the usual game face.”</p><p>Whipping out her communicator with an exaggerated eye roll, she taps on a few keys. Sonic tries to avert his eyes to give her some semblance of privacy, but it’s like watching a train wreck—he can’t look away.</p><p>“What the hell're you doing?”</p><p>
  <em>Met Sonic for lunch today. He’s really broken up about whatever Shadow did to him the other day. You know anything about what happened?</em>
</p><p>Sonic pouts. “I’m not <em>broken up</em> over anything. Miffed, sure.”</p><p>Amy fixes him with a look drier than a desert.</p><p>Holding up his arms in surrender, Sonic begrudgingly grunts, “Alright, maybe I am, but that doesn’t mean you needed to tell <em>Rouge</em>.”</p><p>The pink hedgehog huffs. “Rouge is Shadow’s best friend, dummy. It’ll get back to him if I tell her, and she’ll probably do her duty to knock some sense into him.”</p><p>Sonic sardonically grins. “Like me and you, huh?”</p><p>“Exactly.” Puffing out her chest in pride, Amy smiles. “If you’re this torn up about it, things must be pretty serious. I thought it was your personal policy not to fall for your friends.”</p><p>“He’s not a friend,” Sonic murmurs defensively. “He’s…”</p><p>
  <em>My ex-rival who’s a mess and aloof as hell. He’s absurd, as snarky as I am, and twice as cocky. He’s easy to push around once he gets riled up, and it’s fun when we’re on the same side. He’s smart as a whip. Sharp-clawed. Snaggle-toothed. Adorable.</em>
</p><p>“He’s just <em>Shadow</em>,” Sonic finally finishes, unable to wrack his brain for anything better to say. “Besides, you know even better than I do—that sort of stuff just creeps up on you.”</p><p>“Mmhmm,” Amy hums. “I’m really happy for you, Sonic. You know that, right?”</p><p>“Don’t get all cheesy on me,” he mumbles. He doesn’t push her away when she affectionately runs a glove down his quills, though. “I’m not in the mood.”</p><p>“You and Shadow aren’t official <em>yet</em>, so you’re not allowed to sulk all day and write sad poems about him in the middle of the night.”</p><p>Sonic elbows his friend in the side, the gentle motion making her snicker. “Jerk.”</p><p>“Asshole,” Amy lovingly jibes back.</p><p>He gives her a piggyback ride home to save her the travel time, and then he paces around the world for a few more hours, burning excess energy out of his skin as he mentally rehearses what he's going to say to Shadow when they talk again.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Rouge’s eyes are narrowed in disbelief, her lips pressed in a thin line. “You kissed Sonic and you’ve been ghosting him ever since?”</p><p>“Sonic kissed <em>me</em>,” Shadow corrects her, voice gruff with thinly-veiled frustration. “What else was I supposed to do? It was a bad idea, and he probably figured that out for himself. It’s better to drift away while we’re still on good terms.”</p><p>Rouge harshly jabs one talon into the white tuft of fur on Shadow’s chest. “What’s so bad about it, huh? That you might actually be happy for once in your life?”</p><p>He glares back at the bat, hackles rising. “I’m fine the way I am. I don’t need that faker to lock arms with me and sing my praises to get by.”</p><p>The taller woman grabs his wrist, a motion which makes him wince, because he’s still overdue on releasing the excess Chaos energy from his golden inhibitor bangles. “Shadow, seriously. I’m not trying to pick a fight with you over this, but I need to know you’re not running away from him for some bullshit reason. If you tell me that things weren’t that serious between you, that you won’t regret ending things now, I’ll drop it. Thief's honor.”</p><p>Her grip loosens and Shadow frowns. “I’m not running away.”</p><p>Huffing, Rouge puts one paw on her hip. “Avoiding the problem is the same as running away, hotshot.”</p><p>The room becomes stiflingly quiet for a time, Shadow trapped in his thoughts. He doesn’t like losing, <em>period</em>, but Rouge does have a point. Something filthy and rotten inside of him despises the fact that he hasn’t tried to talk to Sonic for the past few weeks. That same ugly creature dwelling in his chest has been too proud to pick up a communicator and contact him, but he jealously despises the idea of someone else taking the spot beside Sonic, joining him on jaunts across the multiverse, or eating day-old leftovers together on Shadow’s ratty old couch.</p><p>“I’ve tried to kill him twice, Rouge. Who’s to say I won’t do it again?” Shadow finally speaks, peering down at his paws, as if he can see the blood on them. “I often forget my own strength, forget what I truly am—a mechanically-engineered bioweapon with altered memories. Scientifically speaking, I shouldn’t even be alive.”</p><p>Teal eyes search burning red irises for the truth with a little frown. “Do you trust him?”</p><p>Shadow glares at her. “That’s not—”</p><p>“I don’t want to hear more excuses.” Putting a finger under his chin, she asks again, more sternly this time. “<em>Do you trust him</em>?”</p><p>He closes his eyes to avoid her piercing stare. “Fuck. Of course I trust him.”</p><p>“Then trust that he knows what he’s getting himself into, you pessimistic little shit,” Rouge quips. “Have you two bared your claws yet?”</p><p>Shadow turns up his nose to hide his shame. “I don’t believe that’s any of your business.”</p><p>“You <em>have</em>,” Rouge squeals. “I didn’t know you had it in you.” She slaps him on the back, knocking the wind out of him for a moment. “Now go and get your man.”</p><p>“He’s not mine, and he’s a hedgehog.”</p><p>“Now you’re just being petty. He’s a <em>male </em>hedgehog, isn’t he?” The bat rolls her eyes, forcefully pushing him out of the door. “Get out and don’t come back until you’ve made amends.”</p><p>Shadow’s not particularly upset about being locked out of his own house, but he never got to finish painting his nails, and worse—his gloves are still inside. Refusing to slink back in defeat and grovel for them, he rushes to the other side of the world, hoping that Sonic still likes him enough to give this whole mess a second chance.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Tails and Sonic are stuck waiting in line to order food when Sonic’s communicator rings, so the hedgehog jostles bags of snacks and drinks around to bring his wrist closer to his ear. “Hello?” Whoever’s on the line doesn’t answer right away, so Sonic impatiently taps his foot against the floor. “<em>Hello?</em>”</p><p>“Sonic.” A familiar voice mutters his name, causing Sonic’s pulse to erratically pick up speed. “You wouldn’t happen to be busy, would you?”</p><p>“I’m totally free. Like, super available. Why do you ask?” He could kick himself for sounding so eager, but he can’t help it.</p><p>“I’m outside of your place,” Shadow says. “I was hoping we could talk.”</p><p>The wind immediately falls out of Sonic’s sails. Even though he’d been enthusiastic about doing the same thing earlier, the connotation sounds different coming from somebody else. <em>Remember how Amy said you were overthinking things? Stop doing that. </em>“Yeah, sure. I’ll be right there.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Shadow says, pausing for a while before remembering that he should end the call properly. “See you soon.”</p><p>Sonic apologizes, telling Tails goodbye before immediately zipping home, throwing all the stuff into his friend’s arms along with a fistful of bills, hoping that it’s enough to cover whatever the fox wants to eat.</p><p>Seconds later, Sonic finds Shadow curled up on his doorstep. His muzzle is faintly discolored, his eyes are bloodshot, and his skin seems faintly irradiated, almost like he’s shrouded by a very dim glow. “You alright? Your fur seems kinda weird.”</p><p>“It’s these damn inhibitors,” Shadow grumbles, rubbing his arms roughly as he follows the blue hedgehog inside. “I’ve been meaning to let off the excess energy for a while, but things kept popping up and I got distracted. It’s no big deal.”</p><p>“I’d get on that soon. Not for nothin’, bro, but you look like shit.”</p><p>Shadow snorts. “Thanks.” He briefly shuffles around the room before speaking again. “I haven’t been sleeping well since the last time we saw each other. Though it deeply pains me to admit this, I suppose that I missed you.”</p><p>Sonic can’t help the little smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth. “You <em>suppose</em>?”</p><p>“<em>Don’t</em> push it,” Shadow blithely responds. “Listen up, Sonic, because I’m only going to say all of this once.” Realizing that he has Sonic’s undivided attention, those bright green eyes totally focused on him, Shadow draws in a deep breath before saying his piece. “I like you, but I’m inevitably going to fuck this up. I’m sure I’ll hurt you again, and it won’t be pretty. It would probably be prudent for your friends to hunt me down and kick my ass now, to spare them the effort in the future, but right this moment, I don’t care. If you still want me, then I’m yours.”</p><p>Sonic stands in stunned silence for a full minute before realizing that he’s being kind of a dick. Shadow's just bared his soul to him, and he’s only been gaping at the black hedgehog in return. “Wow, uh. That wasn’t what I was expecting you to say.” Unfortunately, unless it pertains to teasing Eggman about his constant failure to take over the world, Sonic often catches himself putting his whole foot in his mouth. Blushing furiously, Sonic coughs, trying to stay on track. “I mean, yes. <em>Hell</em> yeah. I’d really like that, Shadow. I really like <em>you</em>.”</p><p>“You have terrible taste.”</p><p>“I’m well aware.”</p><p>Sonic and Shadow aren’t exactly paragons of restraint and composure on a good day—it’s a miracle that they’ve lasted this long without exchanging insults or lunging at each other. Shadow takes the initiative this time, pushing Sonic to the ground with his lips parted, humming when he hears Sonic sigh in pleasure.</p><p>Their brief kisses quickly grow bolder as Sonic fearlessly presses himself against Shadow, roaming to explore the quills down the black hedgehog’s spine. Shivering, Shadow does the same, sinking his sharp teeth into Sonic’s nape just to hear him hiss. “If you leave while I’m sleeping tonight,” Sonic pants, “there won’t be anywhere in the multiverse that you can use Chaos Control to teleport to and escape my wrath.”</p><p>“<em>Wrath.</em>” Shadow chuckles softly. “Now I want to, just to see what it looks like when you’re enraged.”</p><p>The taunt elicits a more sensual roll of Sonic’s hips against Shadow’s groin. The older hedgehog lets his eyes slide shut for a moment, vulnerable and eager for more. “You’re awfully saucy when you’re stressed out,” Sonic quips back.</p><p>“What can I say,” Shadow hums. “It’s a gift.”</p><p>Things quickly devolve into senseless rutting from that point on, and Sonic commits every debauched image of Shadow to memory, taking his time to study his lover’s body.</p><p>The picture that burns the brightest behind his eyelids when he tries to go to bed that night is of Shadow <em>smiling</em>—it’s a genuine expression of mirth that he lets slip in the afterglow, not a cocksure, arrogant, or sly expression. Every red stripe lining black fur is a side note, because that soft, honest look on Shadow’s face does everything for Sonic.</p><p>Thus, Sonic makes it his mission to get Shadow to smile like that more often, whatever it takes.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>A few days after his miscommunication with Sonic gets resolved and they’re apparently <em>official</em>, Shadow wakes up to the obnoxious sound of whirring outside of his door.</p><p>Omega doesn't waste time on running greeting protocols when Shadow groggily lets him in. “STATUS REPORT FROM HEADQUARTERS. CHAOS ENERGY OUTPUT IN REACTOR CONFIRMED AS OF 23:05 YESTERDAY. READINGS INDICATE THAT YOU WERE SIX WEEKS OVERDUE FOR A CHECK-IN, WITH 25% EXCESS CHAOS ENERGY TRAPPED IN YOUR BODY. BODILY FUNCTIONS PRESUMED TO BE DEBILITATED BY 78.3%, TO THE POINT OF HINDERING EVERYDAY TAKS AND UNCONSCIOUS MOTOR CONTROL.”</p><p>Shadow runs a hand down his face. “I told the Chief to keep those readouts private, Omega.”</p><p>“ROUGE HAS ENSURED THAT I WILL HAVE CLEARANCE TO YOUR FILES, REGARDLESS OF MY RANK WITHIN THE MILITARY. SHE INFORMED ME THAT YOU HAVE POSITIVE NEWS TO SHARE WITH ME, AND THAT WE SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITHOUT ANY SECRETS. I HAVE CONFIRMED THAT YOUR HEALTH IS OPTIMAL AND DISCLOSED MY FINDINGS. I PRESUME THAT THIS IS NOW THE IDEAL SITUATION IN WHICH WE WOULD EXCHANGE INFORMATION TRUTHFULLY.”</p><p>“She’s just making a big deal out of it,” Shadow mumbles. “I’m seeing someone. That’s all.”</p><p>“SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.”</p><p>He glares at his robotic friend. “She told you?”</p><p>“BASED ON PREVIOUSLY GATHERED DATA LOGS OF OUR TIME SPENT TOGETHER, IT WAS THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION. MUCH OF YOUR LIFESTYLE REVOLVES AROUND MAKING SURE THAT SONIC CAN FOCUS ON SAVING THE WORLD WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT THE PROPERTY HE DAMAGES, AND ENSURING THAT ANY ENEMY RECONNAISSANCE HIS TEAM CANNOT FIND IS DISCOVERED IN A TIMELY MANNER.”</p><p>“I don’t do this job <em>for</em> him,” Shadow hisses.</p><p>“NO. THAT IS MERELY ONE BENEFIT THAT COMES FROM YOUR CHOSEN CAREER. YOU DO THIS JOB TO HELP PROTECT THE EARTH. THIS DIRECTIVE IS OFTEN ALIGNED WITH SONIC’S GOALS.”</p><p>Clicking his tongue, Shadow says, “My goal in life is to do as I please. I don’t care who I hurt <em>or</em> save in the process.”</p><p>Omega carefully does not admit that this, too, is aligned with Sonic’s modus operandi, and instead opts to congratulate his hedgehog friend on a new chapter in his life before flying back to headquarters.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It’s a sweltering afternoon in wherever-the-hell Sonic has chosen to take Shadow to today, the two of them exploring caves when they want to cool off and get out of the sun.</p><p>Their usual routine of racing around the world and wrestling for dominance often devolves into tickle-fights and messy smooches, but more often than not, they just enjoy each other’s company and let the scenery zip by in peace.</p><p>Today is one of the tranquil days, and as they wind down, Sonic snakes an arm around Shadow’s back, the two of them sitting on top of a pyramid watching dust whip around the desert. “It’s gonna be my birthday soon,” Sonic says. “The gang really wants you to come. It’s a surprise party.”</p><p>Shadow raises an eyebrow. “You planned your own surprise party?”</p><p>Sonic rolls his eyes. “It’s supposed to be a surprise, but I’m the fastest thing alive. I couldn’t help finding out about it.”</p><p>“The <em>second</em>-fastest thing alive.”</p><p>“You still haven’t beaten me without a Chaos Emerald, so I’m still counting myself as the reigning champion of raw speed.”</p><p>“That’s fine. Sore losers don’t get blowjobs in bed,” Shadow says, a dirty smirk making his crimson irises twinkle.</p><p>The blue hedgehog sputters. “Wha—that was never part of the deal!”</p><p>Snickering, Shadow leans into Sonic’s embrace. “I’ll go.”</p><p>Blinking at the sudden change in topic, Sonic glances at him. “You don’t <em>have</em> to go if you don’t feel like it—you know that, right? It’s just, I talk about you all the time, because you’re special to me, and I feel like you’ll just sit around at home and think about all the ways shit could go south if I didn’t invite you.”</p><p>“I <em>do</em> have a job,” Shadow grumbles. “I don’t just sit around and write in a journal about you all day.” Flicking Sonic in the arm, he continues, saying, “Also, I never say things I don’t mean. I said I’d go, so I’ll go. I might not stay long, but I know this is important to you—socializing with the plebeians, or whatever.”</p><p>“Those <em>plebeians</em> have names, mister, and I’m expecting you to be on your best behavior.”</p><p>“I’m not making any promises.”</p><p>Sonic flashes a thousand-watt grin. “Well, it’ll probably fine even if you’re bratty. They already know how you are. They think your whole gloomy bastard schtick is funny.” Before Shadow can retort, Sonic presses a soft kiss to the tip of Shadow’s nose, distracting him.</p><p>Shadow pulls his boyfriend back with a scowl. “You can’t end a debate with a kiss and consider it a win every time.”</p><p>“As long as it works, I’m gonna keep doin’ it,” Sonic jeers, and then he runs off into the sunset, Shadow hot on his heels.</p><p>They bump into each other as they speed through time and space, simply enjoying the moment. Sonic follows Shadow back to his place and convinces the sourpuss to join him for a long cuddle session after they shower, and just like that, Shadow reminds himself what he’s pushing through his internal struggles for—this. Sonic, lying on his bed with a lopsided grin, looking pleased as a peach that Shadow has opened up his heart and home to him, that they might be falling in love one day at a time.</p><p>Things might not always be perfect between them, but for right now, it’s more than enough.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i forgot (and/or never noticed) that shadow uses "boku" in the japanese version of the series. that shit is super cute to me for some reason, him trying to come off all bad and strong while still being a li'l polite. i'm losing my whole mind.</p><p>(ps: when i imagine their claws/paws, i imagine stuff like these pics by <a href="https://superemeralds.tumblr.com/post/610888866415673344">@superemeralds</a> and <a href="https://halpdevon.tumblr.com/post/188658146896">@halpdevon</a>, btw. ♡♡♡)</p><p>thanks for reading! ♡</p><p>✧<strong>tumblr: <a href="https://quillifer.tumblr.com/">quillifer</a></strong></p></blockquote></div></div>
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